Babysat

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Looked after a child or children for a short period, usually while the parents were away
2. Provided temporary supervision and care to a young person in place of their parents
3. Took responsibility for watching a child during an absence of their usual guardians

Etymology: "Babysat" is the past tense and past participle of "babysit," and it comes from the verb in a roundabout way. English first had the noun "babysitter," a person who watches over children while their parents are away, and "babysit" was formed later by back-formation: speakers took the familiar agent noun, removed the "-er," and treated what remained as a verb. This is why the verb is younger than the noun it grew from, the reverse of how most English verbs and their -er nouns arise. The pattern is common. "Editor" was similarly shaped into "edit," and "burgle" was formed from "burglar" in the same way. The verb "babysit" simply follows that path, turning a job title into an action anyone can perform. Its past tense was then regularly formed by adding "-ed," giving "babysat," with the vowel changing from "i" to "a" as in "sit" and "sat."

Synonyms: cared for, looked after, watched, tended, supervised

Antonyms: neglected, ignored, abandoned